Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Today we honor Edward Lowe (1929-1995), the man who "brought the cat indoors" with his invention of Kitty Litter.

Lowe was working for his father's company, which sold industrial absorbents, when he came up with the idea for Kitty Litter. A neighbor, tired of her cat tracking ashes throughout her house, asked Lowe for sand to use in her cats litter box. Lowe suggested using clay instead. The neighbor loved the clay and would soon use nothing else.

Lowe soon began marketing his new invention. He took brown bags full of clay down to the local pet store and asked to sell them. The owner refused, stating people wouldn't be willing to pay 65 cents for their cats litter box when sand was very cheap. Lowe was sure people would be willing to pay for the new product and told the owner to give the Kitty Litter away until people were willing to pay. Lowe was right and soon the shop owner was asking to be able to sell the product.

Shortly after his products success he founded Edward Lowe Industries, Inc, to manufacture and distribute the Kitty Litter. Edward Lowe Industries, Inc. is now a billion dollar industry.

Lowe used his success to found The Edward Lowe Foundation. His foundation's mission is to help foster the entrepreneur through peer learning and help the exchange of ideas.

While a simple and small,Lowe's invention has helped to make taking care of cats simpler and easier. It has allowed for cats to become indoor pets, making him a Hero of Capitalism for pet lovers everywhere.